Abby's Loss
by Yutolia
Summary: Something terrible has happened to Anna. Please read and review! Flames welcome.
1. Anger

_A/NThanks for the great reviews, you guys! Sorry about the two that got deleted when I couldn't get my story updated and had to restart it._

**Disclaimer: None of the characters or place names associated with the BSC belong to me. They all belong to ANM.**

At 6 AM, my alarm went off. I rolled out of bed without hitting the snooze for once, and changed to go jogging. I was out the door in literally five minutes, with my headphones blaring and feet ready to go. I had always been a morning person, and it was a beautiful one. Red, gold, and orange leaves that contrasted against the blue sky covered the trees and crunched under my feet.

As I ran through the brisk morning air, I went over my schedule in my head. I had just begun to teach history at Stoneybrook High School, and I had a full schedule today. I also coached soccer after school, so it would be a busy day.

As I came back into my house, I noticed that the light on my phone was flashing, which meant I had a message. This was really odd, I thought. Nobody calls me at seven in the morning. Then I realized, maybe it was Kristy asking for a ride or something. She was also teaching at SHS, and coached softball.

But strangely, it was my mom who called. My mom used to be a workaholic until she had a mental breakdown was no longer able to work at all. She definitely shouldn't have been up at this hour.

I started to make myself some oatmeal with the phone perched on my shoulder. It rang a few times, and then she finally answered.

"Hello?" her voice sounded shaky.

"Hi, mom? It's Abby, are you okay?" I stirred my oatmeal, hoping whatever she needed could wait until I got home from work, or at least until after breakfast.

"Sweetie… I'm fine… I think." She stammered.

Now I was really confused, and I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was really wrong.

"Honey," mom started before I could say anything, "I have some bad news. Anna's in the hospital. The prognosis isn't good."

I blinked a couple of times, trying to process what my mom had just said. Anna? In the hospital?

I was absolutely shocked. I started to shaking, and I felt quite dizzy. I had to sit down.

"What happened?" I managed weakly.

I heard my mom take a deep breath. "It looks like she fell down some stairs. Ummm, she has several broken bones and a severe concussion. She's in pretty bad shape, Abby. We'd better go see her."

I made plans with my mom to meet her at the train station, and head into New York, where Anna lived. She had graduated from Julliard and stayed in New York to play in the New York Philharmonic.I hadn't heard from her in about a year, not since we had a terrible fight. I had argued that Anna's boyfriend, Mark, wasn't treating her very well. It seemed to me that he was controlling how much time she could spend with us (her friends and family), and also seemed emotionally abusive. Anna got very angry with me when I pointed this out to her. I was really worried, but she refused to speak to me after that. She wouldn't answer my calls, and I had shown up a couple of times at her house, even - the first time, she refused to answer the door, and the second time, I discovered that she no longer lived there. She didn't tell mom she had moved, and it was a wonder anyone at all was told she was in the hospital.

I was so offended by this that I just gave up. I seethed about it for about six months afterward, but then I calmed down enough to deny that I felt anything anymore. I could deny it now, though. The old hurt and anger surged in my chest. The old wounds still stung. I sat down at the table, and tried to eat, but I just ended up absent mindedly stirring my oatmeal, no longer hungry. Instead it was my who was being consumed: by my selfish anger. I didn't really want to see Anna, but deep down I knew I had to. I called the school and told them what happened, and they set forth arranging a sub for me for that day.

I met my mom at the train station, and we bought our tickets and boarded one of the express trains. I sat most of the time and stared out the window. My mom went to one of the little concession stands and bought us coffee, but I didn't feel like drinking it. I felt like my insides had turned to stone.

Finally, my mom spoke. "Abby, I know that you're angry with Anna. I was angry with her too for a long time. But don't you think maybe the time has come for us to let those things go?"

I took a deep breath before I spoke. "I was just, well, so worried about her! I mean, she's my sister! She couldn't even tell me where she lived? How she was doing? She just cut things off! How could she do that?"

All of sudden, I realized that I was shouting and I looked around for a second. People who had been staring and attempting to listen in quickly went back to reading the newspaper or looking out the window.

"Well, maybe now things will have changed. This may be a chance to build a new relationship with your sister. I understand that you are angry, but try to not to let it get in the way right now, okay?"

I nodded my head, took another deep breath, and looked out the window, wondering what might come next.


	2. Attempted Escape

**Disclaimer: None of the characters or place names associated with the BSC belong to me. They all belong to ANM.**

The day before:

Anna quickly gathered her things. He would be home soon. She began just stuffing a last few random things in a bag and, after grabbing her cello, which she had not been allowed to play for several months, headed for the door. It was late at night, and the street that she lived on was not very well lit, but that was something she felt she had to risk.

Anna was deeply frightened, but she knew that she had to leave or things might be worse. She just hoped it wasn't too late. She wasn't confident that her mom and Abby would forgive her for how badly she had treated them, but all she could do was hope for it was all she had left. She was exhausted, scarred and bruised. There was no evidence of the spark that used to glitter in her eyes. The fire that drove her to practice her music rigorously everyday, to get into and graduate from Julliard, and to land a job with the New York Philharmonic had been almost extinguished. Her escape was her last chance, and she knew it.

Anna closed the door to her tiny apartment and locked it, and then started down the hallway. As she turned the corner to get to the stairs, she stood face to face with Mark. Anna's horror and surprise could not be disguised.

"Going somewhere?" sneered Mark, his voice sinister.

Anna, frozen for a mere second, recovered and quickly went over her options. She dropped her bags and ran back for the apartment. She could get in, lock him out and call the police from there, at least she thought. She tried but failed to remain calm. She grabbed her doorknob and realized that it was locked as it didn't turn. She grabbed her keys from her pocket, and proceeded to drop them. Mark stood and watched her, and started to laugh as she struggled.

"You're never going to get away from me. I'll make sure of that." He grabbed her hand and took the keys from her. Anna then took another route and ran around him and down the hallway, towards the stairs. Mark ran after her, and as Anna approached the stairs he got angrier and angrier, looking for away to punish her for what he saw as disobedience. Anna was right at the top of the stairs when Mark reached his hand out and pushed hard.


	3. Letting Go

_A/N: I realized that I said earlier that Anna was in a coma... I changed that for the point of this chapter._**  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own, ANM does. **

Mom and I got on the subway at Grand Central Station, and were heading towards the hospital. We were both very quiet. I kept taking long, deep breaths, and reminding myself not to let my anger get the best of me. I had to let it go. I leaned my head back against the side of the train and closed my eyes for a few seconds. I felt my moms hand on my shoulder, and I looked at my mom and saw her smiling a sadly at me. I wished I could smile at all right now, but all I felt was cold.

The train screeched to a halt and we walked off, and climbed the stairs that led to the main entrance of the hospital. Mom walked up the counter and asked where Anna's room was. The nurse directed us after we told her we were family. We walked down the long hallway towards Anna's room. It seemed like an eternity before we got there.

Mom went in to see Anna first, so I sat on the bench outside in the hallway. The information I had recieved that morning still wasn't computing, although I thought it had. I would soon find out that I really didn't understand how bad it was.

When mom had gone into the room, she looked as though she was going to be able to hold it together, but by the time she came out she was crying hard. While wiping away her tears, she motioned me towards the door. Slowly I walked through.

.What I saw startled me. Anna's leg and arm were in casts, and her head was bandaged where apparently the doctors had to stitch her up. The leg and arm that were not in casts had enormous bruises, although they looked as though they had been there for more than just a day. In seeing her like this, my anger suddenly melted away and I started to cry.

"Abby?" she said weakly.

"Hi, Anna." I spoke through my tears, my voice shaking.

"Abby, I'm so sorry." I was walking closer to her. I saw her face. She had a split lip and a huge black eye. Could all this be from the fall? I wondered.

"What happened?" I managed to say after about a minute of trying to take in my surroundings.

"I was trying to leave. I finally realized that I had to go, or my life would be over. It almost was, he thought he killed me as it was... if that cleaning lady hadn't found me!" Anna started to cry too.

"Wait a minute, Anna, what are you trying to say?"

"Mark. I was going to leave him, finally. I was going to see you and mom again. He didn't allow me to see you guys! H-he hated you and said you were a bad influence on me." Anna stammered, the words coming inbetween long breaths as if she were exhausted.

"Mark did this to you? Pushed you down the stairs?" Anna nodded.

Suddenly it all became clear. I had been so incredibly selfish. Here I was, angry at my sister for supposedly ignoring me when she was afraid for her life. I caressed her cheek, as it seemed to be the only place I could touch her without coming into contact with a bruise or some other kind of injury, looked her straight in the eyes and said, "It's not you who has to be sorry, Anna, it's me! Here you've been in this horrible situation, and I've been angry at you because I thought you abandoned me. I'm sorry I've been so selfish. If I had known what was going on, I'd..." I stopped myself, "Anyway, I'm sorry. I've missed you so much!"

"Abby, I missed you too! I could never abandon you." She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. After a few seconds I noticed her grip had loosened. I looked at her, seeing her eyelids sinking shut. Suddenly, one of the machines started beeping really loud. I ran out of the room and got one of the doctors.

I was told to stay outside. In a daze, I sat down with my mother. We were both already totally emotionally wrecked, and I didn't think we could take much more. Both of us were paralyzed with fear and anxiety. After about twenty minutes (although it seemed like hours) a doctor emerged with a look of extreme dread.

"Are you two Anna Stevenson's mother and sister?"

My mother answered, "Yes," softly, and all I could manage was a tiny nod. I could barely look at him.

"Ummm, I'm sorry to say your sister's brain injury was worse than we had suspected. It was bleeding severely, and we did all we could to try to stop it, but she didn't make it. Anna died a few minutes ago."

My mother started screaming and I collapsed into a sobbing heap. Neither of us heard anything he said after that.


End file.
